​​​​TEXAS GULF COAST – Total global trade for Texas ports is estimated to be valued at more than $503 billion annually.

The Port of Houston ranks as the top breakbulk cargo port in the U.S., and the other Texas ports of Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Houston, Galveston, Freeport, Beaumont, and Port Arthur are also important to this highly specialized segment.

Major breakbulk commodities for these Texas Gulf Coast ports include steel, forest products (wood pulp in particular), wind energy production components, and the many feedstocks and products related to the energy industry.

Unlike other land-constrained U.S. port markets, Texas ports have a significant contingent of land available for development—totaling 76,000 acres.

Ports of Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Freeport and Houston have the most acreage available, which will ultimately lead to occupier demand.​

Container shipping is clearly the dominant form of shipping goods, so why do shippers prefer container vessels to breakbulk vessels?​​ ​​First, size matters; a large majority of breakbulk cargo is too large or unusually shaped to fit efficiently in a container. ​